Aussie dawgs…

I guest post from time to time over at Aussie Author Fleur McDonald‘s place, for her A-Z of Farming series.  Thought I’d share this one about pooches… or as my Grandpa used to refer with gruff affection to them as: Dawgs.

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I cannot ever recall a time when dogs were not a very integral part of the fabric of our working lives, part of the team in our beef cattle enterprise. Blue heelers, border collies, kelpies and a mix of each have always been a vital part of our workforce.

Cattle and sheep dogs all have special instincts – and each of the breeds mentioned have their own skills which must be identified and nurtured by their owners to achieve the best working relationship (and happiest dogs) possible.

Australian Cattle Dogs or blue /red heelers (as their name implies) tend to work toward the back of an animal or mob (the ‘heel’ area). They are ideal for cattle which are slower and need ‘pushing’ along. They are incredibly intelligent, strong, loyal and very protective, and brave in the face of adversity.

Never EVER enter a house guarded by a ‘bluey’ without permission!

Border Collies are usually black-and-white and originated in the British Isles.

They tend to ‘roam’ in their working style – skimming the edges of the mob back and forth to keep the cattle from spreading out. Collies love a tidy mob, are gentle with humans, and tend (in my experience) to be a little less ‘talkative’ than their kelpie colleagues!

Sweet Cruel, our super-loyal and loving collie-cross.

Mind you they are almost as energetic and look for all kinds of distactions if you don’t keep them busy.

Like Patch here getting into ‘pig dog’ mode.

Kelpies are an Australian breed but their ancestry can also be traced back to Scotland. They are similar to collies in working style – but look quite different, with their large, alert ears, short red or black fur and distinctive eyebrow markings.

They have the most incredible focus, and stamina and their need to work makes them very restless if they don’t get out often enough.

Among the things to remember about any working dogs like these, is they REALLY need exercise.  And if their instinct to herd is very strong, even that isn’t enough for them.  Owners also need to be careful not to over-feed our working dogs during their ‘down-time’. I am often in trouble for ‘killing them with kindness’ if I am left in charge of their dinner bowls! (They need to be super-fit and reasonably lean-but-healthy or they can over-heat in the Aussie summer.)

And last, but not least, there are the puppies.

The cutest, busiest puppies you ever did see!

Handy, helpful and cute as hell!

😉